Magic Lantern Films

Magic Lantern Films takes its name from the old Magic Lantern Theater, now called the Isla Vista Theater. In the 1970s, the Magic Lantern was an art house that screened classic, independent and foreign films.

The new Magic Lantern picks up where the old one left off by screening critically acclaimed films as well as cult classics. The diverse selection of films will appeal to a variety of audience tastes.

Films screen every Monday night and Thursday night at 8pm during the school year, and every Friday night at 8pm during the summer! Check our schedule for the date and location. Free for UCSB students/$6 for general admission.

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Schedule
Location

NOW PLAYING

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

IV Theater

Thursday January 8th

8:00 PM

DIRECTOR: PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON
2025 / 2 HR 42 MIN

When their evil enemy resurfaces after 16 years, a group of ex-revolutionaries reunite to rescue the daughter of one of their own.

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BIG BOLD BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY

TD-W 1701

Monday January 12th

8:00 PM

DIRECTOR: KOGONADA
2025 / 1 HR 49 MIN

Two strangers who meet at a mutual friend's wedding have the chance to relive important moments from their pasts, illuminating the path that led them to the present and gaining the opportunity to change their futures.

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BUGONIA

IV Theater

Thursday January 15th

8:00 PM

DIRECTOR: YORGOS LANTHIMOS
2025 / 2 HR

Two conspiracy-obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.

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NOW YOU SEE ME: NOW YOU DON'T

IV Theater

Thursday January 22nd

8:00 PM

DIRECTOR: RUBEN FLEICHER
2025 / 1 HR 52 MIN

A diamond heist reunites retired Horsemen illusionists with new performers Greenblatt, Smith and Sessa as they target dangerous criminals.

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SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE

TD-W 1701

Monday January 26th

8:00 PM

DIRECTOR: SCOTT COOPER
2025 / 1 HR 59 MIN

Bruce Springsteen's journey crafting his 1982 album Nebraska, which emerged as he recorded Born in the USA with the E Street Band. Based on Warren Zanes' book.

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DIE MY LOVE

IV Theater

Thursday January 29th

8:00 PM

DIRECTOR: LYNNE RAMSAY
2025 / 1 HR 59 MIN

Grace, a writer and young mother, is slowly slipping into madness. Locked away in an old house in and around Montana, we see her acting increasingly agitated and erratic, leaving her companion, Jackson, increasingly worried and helpless.

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IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT (UN SIMPLE ACCIDENT)

TD-W 1701

Monday February 2nd

8:00 PM

DIRECTOR: JAFAR PANAHI
2025 / 1 HR 46 MIN

An unassuming mechanic is reminded of his time in an Iranian prison when he encounters a man he suspects to be his sadistic jailhouse captor. Panicked, he rounds up a few of his fellow ex-prisoners to confirm the man's identity.

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ARCO

IV Theater

Thursday February 5th

7:00 PM

DIRECTOR: UGO BIENVENU
2025 / 1 HR 29 MIN

In 2075, a girl witnesses a mysterious boy in a rainbow suit fall from the sky. He comes from an idyllic far future where time travel is possible. She shelters him and will do whatever it takes to help him return to his time.

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SPIRITED AWAY

IV Theater

Thursday February 5th

9:00 PM

DIRECTOR: HAYAO MIYAZAKI
2001 / 2 HR 5 MIN

During her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches, and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.

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LITTLE WOMEN

TD-W 1701

Monday February 9th

8:00 PM

DIRECTOR: GRETA GERWIG
2019 / 2 HR 15 MIN

In 19th century Massachusetts, the March sisters--Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy--on the threshold of womanhood, go through many ups and downs in life and endeavor to make important decisions about their futures.

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WICKED: FOR GOOD

IV Theater

Thursday February 12th

Two showings:
7:00 PM - 9:30 PM
9:30 PM - 12 AM

DIRECTOR: JON M. CHU
2025 / 2 HR 17 MIN

Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West and her relationship with Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. The second of a two-part feature film adaptation of the Broadway musical.

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ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW

IV Theater

Friday February 13th

9:00 PM

DIRECTOR: JIM SHARMAN
1975 / 1 HR 40 MIN

A rain-soaked couple takes refuge in the castle of a transvestite mad scientist from outer space who is about to unveil his greatest creation.

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FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S 2

IV Theater

Thursday February 19th

8:00 PM

DIRECTOR: EMMA TAMMI
2025 / 1 HR 44 MIN

One year after the supernatural nightmare at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, Abby runs away to reconnect with her animatronic friends, uncovering dark secrets about the true origins of Freddy's and unleashing a horror hidden for decades.

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HAMNET

TD-W 1701

Monday February 23rd

8:00 PM

DIRECTOR: CHLOE ZHAO
2025 / 2 HR 5 MIN

After losing their son Hamnet to plague, Agnes and William Shakespeare grapple with grief in 16th-century England. A healer, Agnes must find strength to care for her surviving children while processing her devastating loss.

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ETERNITY

IV Theater

Thursday February 26th

8:00 PM

DIRECTOR: DAVID FREYNE
2025 / 1 HR 53 MIN

In an afterlife where souls have one week to decide where to spend eternity, Joan is faced with the impossible choice between the man she spent her life with and her first love, who died young and has waited decades for her to arrive.

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SENTIMENTAL VALUE

TD-W 1701

Monday March 2nd

8:00 PM

DIRECTOR: JOACHIM TRIER
2025 / 2 HR 13 MIN

An intimate exploration of family, memories, and the reconciliatory power of art.

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Location

Isla Vista Theater
960 Embarcadero del Norte
Isla Vista, CA 93117

Theater and Dance West 1701
University of California-Santa Barbara, CA 93106

Anisq’Oyo Park
Goleta, CA 93117